Monday, February 11, 2013
The Boston city councilor says the neighborhood's side streets got some attention on Monday but that there is still a lot of work to be done.
Though there was a delay in getting Charlestown’s side streets plowed after the weekend snowstorm, the neighborhood was looking much better by Monday afternoon, District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina said. “Today they’re out there full swing and the neighborhood looks good. We still have major snow piles on Main Street and Bunker Hill Street, and those need to be repaired. Hopefully the city won’t lift the parking ban until they remove some of those piles of snow,” LaMattina said. The city councilor said he wasn’t sure what exactly caused the delay in plowing but that crews worked during the weekend to clear Charlestown’s major thruways. “I heard that they were concentrated on the main arteries, which is Bunker Hill, Austin and Main …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The city is already mobilizing to clean and clear roads during and after the upcoming storm. This is their plan.
The Boston Department of Public Works is readying more than 600 pieces of equipment for the upcoming storm, gearing up for what could be the biggest storm Boston has seen in years. The DPW starts their preparations by pre-treating as many streets as possible, prepping the salters, sanders and plows, and coordinating with the mayor's office to get residents to keep their cars out of the way. See this video on how they get ready. The mayor is also trying to reduce traffic by urging employers to let employees work from home and requiring only essential city personnel to come in to work. Mayor Thomas Menino has already declared a snow emergency starting at noon Friday, meaning you need to move your car off these streets in Charlestown so …
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
City health officials want "thousands" to get vaccinated this weekend.
Mayor Thomas Menino and Boston health officials are asking residents of all ages to get flu vaccinations this weekend, during a series of free clinics set up to battle what Menino declared as a “public health emergency.” During a press conference held Wednesday afternoon at Parkman House on Beacon Hill, Menino urged residents to protect themselves against “an increasingly tough flu season” by getting vaccinated. “We are less than halfway through the flu season, but Boston has already seen about 700 confirmed cases of the flu since Oct. 1. That’s 10 times the amount of total cases we saw all of last year,” Menino said. “Today, we are announcing that this weekend in partnership with our community health centers, we will be offering free flu …
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Monday, January 7, 2013
The new city ordinance requires owners to register all rentals of more than six units.
A new Boston rental inspection ordinance will require all owners and landlords with more than six units to register in a citywide registry. Mayor Thomas Menino has pushed for the ordinance, which the city estimates will provide a proactive method for inspecting about 140,000 rental units, comprising more than 85 percent of Boston’s approximately 167,800 units. During the next five years, every unit under the ordinance will receive an approved inspection or be entered into an Inspectional Services-approved alternative compliance plan. More than 10 inspectors are expected to be hired, as the city plans on tackling units owned by landlords with a history of noncompliance in the first year of the program. The ordinance first had to be …
Friday, January 4, 2013
The Boston official returned to the office this week.
Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is back in City Hall and running the city as he was before being hospitalized for two months. "The mayor’s doing great. He’s working. He’s been in City Hall a couple times this week to check in with his staff," said John Guilfoil, city spokesman. Menino celebrated his 70th birthday at City Hall on Dec. 27, Guilfoil said. "He was at his Cabinet meeting yesterday (Jan. 2), to see all the Cabinet secretaries. They were all excited to see him. And we’re getting back to normal," Guilfoil said. Menino, who's known for being in the neighborhoods, is not back to running that part of his mayoral routine yet. "The neighborhoods are where he wants to be, and he’s very eager to get out there," Guilfoil said. The five-term …
Monday, December 17, 2012
Know when solid waste collection is happening during the holidays.
Trash collection around any holiday can be confusing, but when you've got several holidays strung together—and lots of added trash from those gift boxes and holiday parties—it's even harder to track. Here is the trash collection schedule for all Boston neighborhoods, including Charlestown: (Tuesday, Dec. 25 at 7 a.m. to Saturday, Dec. 29 at 5 p.m.) In Fenway, Lower Roxbury, Mission Hill, the South End, and Back Bay with Tuesday pickup, the next trash day will be Friday, Dec. 28. In Bay Village, Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Leather District and the North End, and in Back Bay with Monday pickup, trash will run on its regular schedule. In Allston, Brighton, Dorchester, East Boston, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, South Boston and…
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A new data-driven website and downloadable app lets Boston residents check in on the city's services performance, including transportation, crime, fire, parks and other departments.
Crime in Boston has gone down by 4 percent compared to last year. Fires are reached within 4 minutes 66 percent of the time. A total of 1,190 cars were towed in September. Thanks to a new data-driven website and downloadable app, Boston residents can now check in on the city's performance across various city services, including downloads at the library, tree issues in parks, police and fire response and traffic and parking issues. With the Boston About Results program, residents can track each department's goals against the city's actual statistics in a way that is open and transparent to the public in an effort to let residents see how the city is performing. In addition to the web-based scorecard, there's also an iPad app called …
Friday, December 7, 2012
Boston leaders are looking to amend city ordinances and create a citywide database of rental units.
Boston is looking to amend current rental ordinances to create a citywide registry of all rental apartments with regulations that mandate inspections every five years for rental properties containing more than six family dwellings. Mayor Thomas Menino has pushed for the update to the city's rental ordinances, which the Boston City Council has discussed at public hearings and working sessions, and at the Wednesday, Dec. 5 council meeting. Rental units of six family dwellings or fewer would be exempt from the inspections. But all owners of rental buildings would have to pay a one-time $25 fee, which District 6 City Councilor Matt O'Malley, chair of the Committee on Government Operations, said would go to funding the program. "This is a …
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Inspired by food trucks, the vehicle will travel throughout Boston's neighborhoods allowing residents access to select city services.
What happens when you mix city hall with a food truck? A bright red, brand new "City Hall to Go" truck traveling through Boston's neighborhoods where residents can perform select city services like requesting birth or marriage certificates or paying parking tickets. “‘City Hall To Go’ builds on our mission to shake up the status quo in municipal services,” Mayor Thomas Menino said in a statement. “This pilot offers one more way for Boston residents to get personal, timely service from the City, and makes it even easier by cutting out the trip to City Hall.” Residents will be able to pay or dispute parking tickets, request birth, death or marriage certificates and pay property and excise taxes, among other services. The full menu of …
Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Influenza vaccines are being administered at several locations.
Boston residents can get free flu shots during public clinics sponsored by the city throughout the month of December. The clinics offer vaccinations against the influenza virus, commonly referred to as "the flu." Dr. Anita Barry, director of the Commission's Infectious Disease Bureau, stressed the importance of the vaccine in guarding against widespread illness. "A person needs a flu vaccine every year and should get vaccinated to protect not only themselves but also their close contacts and their community," she said in a statement. The following groups are considered high-risk and should get vaccinated as soon as possible: Free clinics will be held on Dec. 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 16, 17, 18 and 19 at St. Anthony’s Shrine Free Flu Clinic (100 …
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Tim K
9:44 am on Friday, February 22, 2013
It's still no excuse, but maybe this news would help explain why the snow removal/plowing was so exceptionally poor during the last snowstorm: http://bostonherald.com/news_opinion/columnists/joe_battenfeld/2013/02/battenfeld_city_fired_contractor_week_before_storm more ›